Prior prosthetic valve testing apparatus and methods typically use a traditional rotary motor coupled with mechanisms to produce regular sinusoidal time varying pressure field conditions. To accurately simulate physiologic conditions and/or produce a more desirable test condition, especially at accelerated testing speeds, a non-sinusoidal time dependent pressure field may be desired. This is not easily accomplished with a mechanistic approach. Furthermore, current systems employ a flexible metallic bellows or conventional piston and cylinder as drive members to provide the pressure actuation. Flexible metallic bellows are not ideal because they require high forces to operate and resonate at frequency, necessitating the use of larger driving systems and limiting the available test speeds. Piston and cylinder arrangements are not ideal because the seals employed in these systems are subjected to friction and thus have severely limited life in high cycle applications.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.